The Carroll Cougars defeated the Clinton Central Bulldogs 28-0 on Friday.
“I thought the kids continued to play,” Carroll head coach Blake Betzner said. “I thought things didn’t go our way at times, but it was a game that I told the kids, ‘You have to bring the excitement.'”
After a strong start on their opening possession, Clinton Central’s offense sputtered near midfield and was forced to punt.
Carroll struck quickly as Kaihl Hernandez took a sweep 59-yards for a Cougar touchdown.
Hernandez finished with over 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns and was named the First Bank Midwest Player of the Game.
Clinton Central couldn’t get much traction on their second possession, but after a muffed punt, the Bulldogs took over in good field position.
After a sack on first down, Clinton Central’s senior quarterback Kaleb Robinson went down and was unable to return to the game after being placed in concussion protocol.
Freshman Aven Faulkner took the reins under center, but couldn’t get the ball moving and Clinton Central turned it over on downs.
Early in the second, Carroll had the ball inside the Clinton Central 20, but was turned away on fourth down.
Pinned deep in their own territory, the Bulldogs struggled to move the ball and had the punt blocked, setting up the Cougars in the red zone once again.
Jon Carey added to the Carroll lead with a short rushing touchdown, pushing the advantage to 14-0.
In the third quarter, Carroll marched down the field quickly, and Landon Hammond found the end zone, pushing the advantage to 21-0.
Clinton Central continued to struggle moving the ball, although Faulkner showed poise and completed two of his three passing attempts.
Hernandez added his second rushing score later in the third, and neither offense found the end zone in the fourth quarter.
The Cougars improved to 5-2 with the win and will take on Clinton Prairie at home next week for the Hoosierland TV Game of the Week.
Clinton Central falls to 3-4 and will finish the season with Delphi and Tri-Central over the next two weeks.
Watch a replay of the game by clicking below:
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